Strength of a Broken Promise
by xsempiternal-sentimentx
Summary: SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ if you haven't read TLO! Otherwise...continue... R&R. Also: I forgot to put in a disclaimer so... DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO or any of the characters in it *sigh* even though I wish I did.


**FULL SUMMARY_  
I had to ask…  
had to tell them…  
had to know.  
Luke's thought's when he was dieing/fighting Kronos _**

**Strength of a Broken Promise**

**Luke's P.O.V  
**"STOP!" Through my pain I heard her, my body whirled to face her and I slashed with my sword.  
She caught the strike on her blade though, and held me at a standstill.  
"Luke," she said, gritting her teeth. My name, my _real_ name, I hadn't heard it in a while, not since the Titan Lord had taken over my body.

_**Lying there, still and lifeless, I sensed Percy. I could almost read his thoughts. He was going to kill me but he hesitated.  
"No" I thought "Do it now, you can stop him!"  
Then I heard the voices of the sea-demons. Maybe if I blocked the noise…if I didn't listen…  
"Ethan," I heard Percy's voice pleading with the half-blood." All of a sudden I understood. There was still a piece missing. Ethan was the missing piece. He still had to pledge himself… No, no he couldn't. A felling of dread went through me as I heard Ethan's words, directed at me.  
"… I will serve Kronos,"  
I had one more sane thought before I felt my consciousness falling.  
NO!**_

_Annabeth,_ I wanted to say_ I regret my decision to join him now._ But _he_ took over, his force too strong to resist.  
"Luke Castellan is dead! His body will burn away as I assume my true form!" Kronos' voice declared.  
I pushed against Annabeth and I saw Backbiter moving towards her neck. _No…_ I thought.  
"Your mother" Annabeth grunted "She saw your fate"

_"Your Mother"…_

Is this what May had seen? Me like _this_, enclosed in the Titans spell, had this been the _fate_ she had been talking about all those years?

"_**Luke, do you want more Kool-aid?" May Castellan asked.  
The little boy laughed. "Yes, mum of course!"  
The boy took the drink offered to him and had some; chattering about something his wild imagination had come up with. May Castellan looked at her boy and smiled he was completely safe; there was no need to worry. Then she doubled over and her eyes turned serpent-green. She dropped to her knees at the boy's feet and started shaking him.  
**__"My son!" she rasped "Your fate, don't do it" her voice sound like it had been tripled.  
"Help me Hermes!" she pleaded "Don't' let him, help him…" she chocked, coughing, gasping for air.  
__**"Mum? Mum?" Luke's small voice was uncertain.  
What was happening to his mother? That had been the third time that week she had done that; her eyes turning green, her mouth letting loose crazy things about his fate, his death. What had come over her? Was she still his mum now?**_

I shuddered inwardly; I could still fight though, couldn't I?  
"Service to Kronos, that is my fate!" I heard the words forced out of my mouth.  
"NO!" Annabeth insisted.

At that word my pain increased, increased with Kronos' anger, I didn't hear the rest of Annabeth's words until…  
"… You're holding Kronos back even now,"  
So she knew, she knew I wasn't completely gone. Kronos' anger at the truth, at his own weakness, me, made my pain increase more… if that was even possible.  
"LIES!" He bellowed, striking Annabeth's face, making her slide backwards.  
I towered over her, Backbiter raised. I watched blood trickle from her mouth as she croaked, "Family Luke… You promised"

_Family … Promise._

"_**You're – You're not going to take me back to my family?" the little girl, Annabeth asked me uncertainly, like she was afraid we were going to throw her away if we passed her house."Promise?"  
I looked at her, she couldn't be more than 7 years old, yet she had the guts to run away, monsters coming at her from all directions. Her family mustn't have treated her very well, I knew what that was like, and so did Thalia. Annabeth looked at me desperately, like she needed reassurance.  
I put my hand on her shoulder "You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm NOT going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"  
"Deal!" she said happily.  
I looked at Thalia, her stare seemed to say, that's a lot to promise Luke, can you keep your promise?**_

I fought harder against Kronos. I _had_ promised… and broken that promise. Thalia had been right, in her silent stare she had shown me that I wouldn't be able to keep the promise I had made to Annabeth. I had told her, when she was 7 years old, that we would be all one family, one better than my own. I told her that I would never let her get hurt, that I would protect her. Now, 9 years later she was reminding me of the promise. Looking the way she was now, tired from fighting and injured because she fought, she taunted me _Luke, how could you let this happen? You promised._

I thought not as far back as 9 years ago, to the time when I was going to take on the Curse of Achilles. My life cord had been Annabeth and Thalia; they had kept me alive as I burn in the Styx. I could still fight. Annabeth believed that I could still defeat Kronos; I gave one final effort, knowing that if this didn't work I wouldn't have any more strength to fight.

I staggered as I felt Kronos pushed back by my last attempt. I took an uneasy step forward. I was in control now but I was weak, very weak, I gasped.  
"Annabeth" my own voice, not _his_ "You're bleeding".  
"My knife," she made a weak attempt to give me her dagger… the one I gave her so long ago… but it clattered out of her hand. She looked at Percy.  
"Percy, please".  
He scooped up her knife and knocked my sword out of my hands. I barely noticed, all my attention was on Annabeth, I was see her as a 7 year old again… scared and alone. I stepped but Percy blocked me.  
"Don't touch her," he said  
I felt pain coming on again, a different type though, Kronos was changing.  
"Jackson…" he growled, _his_ voice again.  
No, NO… It was my body, he was NOT going to take over it again, if I was going to die I wanted to die as myself, without _him_ in me. I gasped.  
"He's changing," I tried to tell Percy "Help. He's – he's almost ready. He won't need my body anymore," every word was pain.  
He would just burn my body away, taking me with it, I would become ashes and I would die tainted by _him_.  
"Please!" – My control broke.  
"NO!" Kronos bellowed, I felt my head move, move to see Backbiter glowing red-hot in the flames of the hearth. I needed to hurt Kronos…burn him maybe? Burn him… I pushed Percy away and stumbled towards the fire.  
"The knife, Percy" I heard Annabeth "Hero… cursed blade…"  
I grasped backbiter, the sword burning my hands, burning Kronos as well, Kronos yelled in pain and dropped the sword. I was back in control. I collapsed.  
"Please, Percy…" I said. _Try to understand._  
I saw him move towards me with Annabeth's blade grasped tightly in his hand, he was going to try and kill me… he wouldn't be able to. _No, _I thought_. Don't. _The blade would just rebound of my skin, it could kill him. The point under my left arm felt heavier and hotter.  
"You can't… can't do it yourself." I struggled to tell him "He'll break my control. He'll defend himself, only my hand…" I tried to explain "I know where. I can… can keep him controlled".  
Percy raised his knife, the point aimed at my chest. NO… I thought, I knew what Hermes had meant now.

_**I forced myself to look into Hermes eyes and stared at him, demanding an answer.  
"My son," he said, I bit back my rage, how could he even CALL me a son of his, he never cared about me! "I'm the god of travelers, the god of roads. If I know anything, I know that you must walk your own path, even though it tears my heart."  
The way he said it, it sounded so sincere. But I knew better than to believe him, if it tore his heart so much he would tell me, any normal father would.  
"You don't love me," I stated bluntly  
I felt like I was going to scream, all these years and he chooses NOW to tell me he loved me??? My ground was set, I had learned enough by myself to know that he didn't mean what he said. I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear Hermes until he said the words that sparked my curiosity again.  
"…You will get a chance to be a great hero before…." Hermes voice trailed off  
"Before WHAT?" I felt like crying and yelling. He KNEW what May's mutterings and fits were about. He KNEW what she meant about my death and my fate. He KNEW and he wouldn't tell me.  
" What did my mum see that made her like this? What's going to happen to me? I you love me tell me!"  
I felt sure we would tell me, which father wouldn't? I watched his muscles contract and his face tighten.  
"I cannot." The finality was clear in the words, and so was my disappointment.  
"Then you don't care!" I yelled**_

I had to die… I understood what Hermes had meant by _you have to walk your own path._ If he had told me would I still be where I was now…. But Percy wouldn't be able to kill me himself, he had no idea where my Achilles spot was, only I knew._**  
**_Then I saw understanding cross Percy's face. _He understood. _  
"Please, "I groaned "No time" It was true, he was changing and I was glowing, the burning increased slowly.  
Percy hesitated...Then he gave me Annabeth's blade. With trouble, I grasped the hilt.  
I unlatched the side straps of my armour and stabbed the exact point of my Achilles heel.  
I felt the blade go through my skin, but not just my skin, also the layers of the Titan Lord. The pain was burning, I howled. I felt Kronos ripping, releasing so much energy through my body. I felt my knees go weak and I collapsed.

I heard nothing for a long time.

I opened my eyes and saw Percy staring at me.  
"Good…blade" I said, my voice was rough and raspy.  
I watched Percy kneel down, watched Annabeth and Grover limp over. I stared at Annabeth.  
"You knew," I said "I almost killed you… but you knew…"  
"Shhh," Annabeth's voice trembled. I felt myself slipping; Annabeth's voice was becoming softer.  
NO…Not now, I had to hang in a bit longer.  
_I had to ask… had to tell them…had to know. _  
"You were a hero in the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium," Annabeth was comforting me. I shook my head weakly.  
"Think…rebirth. Try for three times. Isle of the Blest," my voice was soft.  
"You always pushed yourself too hard," Annabeth sniffled.  
I had to know…  
"Did you…" my voice died. I coughed. "Did you love me?"  
I watched her face change slightly, like a dreaded question had been asked.  
" There was a time I thought…" her voice was so soft I couldn't hear her. I listened harder.  
"… You were like a brother to me Luke, but I didn't love you"  
I had expected it, I nodded.  
"We can get ambrosia," I heard Grover's voice "We can – "  
_No…_he had to know, there was no healing.  
"Grover," I gulped "You're the bravest satyr I ever knew. But, no. There's no healing…" I coughed.  
I gripped Percy's sleeve… I needed his word.  
"Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it happen again," My voice was pleading.  
"I won't," he said "I promise"  
I nodded… I had his word now. I had achieved what I wanted all along. I felt my grip slacken and I gave up fighting… I let myself go.

* * *

**Very sad... but at least Luke got what he wanted all along.  
PLEASE Review... it's very easy just click on that green button down there. ;)**


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